Baked coconut cake
Baked coconut cake is a beloved country treat from the Mekong Delta, with a deep golden, buttery top and a moist, chewy inside packed with strands of fresh coconut. Tapioca starch and glutinous rice flour give the cake a gentle chew, while coconut milk makes it rich and flavorful without being heavy.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rising or chilling
- 30 min
- Total time
- 1 hr 45 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Batter
Preparing the pan
Instructions
Step 1
Heat the oven to 170°C, rub to taste unsalted butter over the bottom and sides of a 20 cm square pan and line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper. The butter and parchment keep the sugar that caramelizes on the bottom from sticking to the pan. The pan is ready when the parchment lies flat with no curling edges.
Step 2
Crack 150 g eggs into a large bowl, add 160 g granulated sugar and a pinch salt and whisk by hand for about two minutes. Whisk just enough to dissolve the sugar; there is no need to whip in air, because coconut cake should be dense and chewy. The mixture is ready when it turns pale yellow and you can no longer feel any gritty sugar.
Step 3
Melt 40 g unsalted butter and let it cool slightly, then pour it into the egg bowl with 250 g coconut milk and 4 g vanilla extract and stir slowly to combine. Butter that is too hot will scramble the eggs, so wait until it is just warm to the touch. The mixture is ready when it is smooth and runny, an even ivory color, with no streaks of yellow butter floating on top.
Step 4
Sift 80 g tapioca starch, 60 g glutinous rice flour and 4 g baking powder into the bowl and stir in one direction until fully dissolved. Sifting keeps the flours from clumping, so the cake is evenly chewy from edge to center. The batter is ready when it pours in an unbroken stream, is as thick as fresh milk and has no white specks left.
Step 5
Add 300 g freshly grated coconut and fold from the bottom of the bowl up with a flat spatula so the strands separate and soak up the batter evenly. Grated coconut absorbs some of the liquid, so mix thoroughly to break up any dry clumps of coconut. The mixture is ready when the coconut is evenly distributed and a spoonful shows the strands submerged in thick batter.
Step 6
Pour the mixture into the pan, smooth the top and bake on the middle rack at 170°C for about 45 to 55 minutes. Moderate heat lets the inside cook through until chewy before the top gets too dark. The cake is done when the top is golden brown, the edges pull slightly away from the pan and a skewer inserted in the center comes out just slightly moist, with no wet batter.
Step 7
Set the pan on a rack and let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before taking it out. Hot coconut cake is very soft and breaks easily, and only as it cools does the starch set into a firm, chewy crumb. It is ready when the bottom of the pan feels only slightly warm and the top does not sink when pressed lightly.
Step 8
Turn the cake out onto a cutting board, peel off the parchment and cut it into bite-sized squares with a large knife wiped with oil. An oiled blade cuts through the chewy coconut without dragging strands out. The pieces are right when the cut faces are flat and show strands of coconut woven through the pale golden crumb.
Equipment
- Oven
- Square pan
- Whisk
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Sieve
- Kitchen scale
- Parchment paper
Tips
- Freshly grated coconut makes the cake far more fragrant and moist than desiccated coconut; if desiccated is all you have, soak it in the coconut milk for about fifteen minutes to soften before mixing.
- For a shiny top, brush on a thin layer of egg yolk mixed with a little coconut milk when the cake has about ten minutes left to bake.
- The cake tastes best after cooling completely for about an hour, when the coconut and butter flavors have melded and the chew is more pronounced.
Storage
Covered, the cake keeps at room temperature for one day. For longer storage, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days and warm it in a 150°C oven for about five minutes to make it soft and fragrant again.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The center of the cake is wet and gummy.
- The cake was not baked long enough or your oven runs cooler than its setting. Bake it ten minutes longer, laying a sheet of foil over the top if it is already well browned.
- The cake is dry and crumbly, and the coconut strands fall out when you cut it.
- The grated coconut was too dry or there was not enough coconut milk. Use fresh coconut squeezed only lightly, not wrung dry, and weigh the coconut milk accurately.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
